Boys From The South
by CowGirl7384
Summary: Rusty and Ariel travel the South as young women searching for adventure.  And accident turns them stranded in a small Alabama town.  Ariel meets Ren who literally saves their life and is hesitant at first but is her usual outgoing self.  pleas r&r


Maybe he's in Texas, maybe this town

Maybe Oklahoma plowin' up some ground

Southern Carolina, somewhere on the coast

Maybe Alabama drivin' through Montgomery

Right now, there's somethin' 'bout a boy from the South

**I don't really live in the South. I live in this little town called Post Falls, Idaho. It's actually the opposite of South, North! But I have to say, nothing gets me like a Southern boy; that Southern drawl, their small town way of life, their courtesy. You can't find anything like it anywhere else. Yeah, any guy can be nice but unless you're from the South you don't have that sweet southern drawl that I absolutely love, which I think I have mentioned a few times! One day, I'll find my boy from the South. It's cheesy, and I will never will get married young like many of my relatives who have married too young and gotten pregnant and become housewives. Not that there is anything wrong with them, but they never experienced much. **

Maybe he's in Florida, somewhere in the pines

Maybe on the delta throwin' out a line

Mayabe he's in Georgia, starin' at the stars

Maybe Tennessee pickin' on a guitar

Right now, there's somethin' 'bout a boy from the South

**My boy from the South is out there, yet I'm not sure where. He could be in Texas, the Virginia's, Georgia, Alabama. Although, technically, it's not a southern state, the Carolina's might be nice. Wherever he may be, I don't need to know at this moment. I'm traveling right now and wherever he is we'll end up together. No, I am not personally driving, my best friend Rusty is. We've been friends since we were 10 and have dreamed of graduating and traveling together. Most girl friends do say that, but we actually made it happen. We've been through Washington, California, Colorado, and Oklahoma. Actually, we are still in Oklahoma, heading towards Texas. I've never been to Texas before, but I have relatives there that we will visit and I can't wait to see the Lonestar. This is sort of a blog, only it's more for myself and maybe for Rusty. I'm Ariel by the way, Ariel McLaughlin. We reach my Aunt and Uncles house, which is huge, and sneak in the back door which they informed us would be left unlocked for us. We crashed in the guest bedroom and slept until 10 when my overly nice aunt knocked the door. "Girls!"**

"**Yes?" We both moaned.**

"**Breakfast is ready. Stephanie and Cody are up too." Cody was their son and Stephanie was his wife. They had been living with together while Cody was building their new house; it was taking longer than planned. **

"**Ok…thanks Aunt Mary…we'll be there in a few minutes." **

"**Alrighty, then!" She closed the door and neither one of moved.**

"**You know she is just going to come back if we don't get up." I said and Rusty moaned, sadly. I get out of bed and throw on a sweatshirt over my Parachute t-shirt. Maybe, today is the day.**

Yea, the first time I felt it I was only 16,

And he kissed me underneath the chinaberry tree.

Said "Goodnight darling," with a sweet southern drawk.

Man, I think I might just have to love them all –

The boys from the South

**As I am eating the crepes that my Aunt and Uncle made for us I am thinking about the fact that I wasn't allowed to date until I was 18 and even then I didn't date anyone for another year or so. My family is asking me questions on what I want to do and what I think of their hometown. I answer automatically but I really hate to talk in the morning. After breakfast, Rusty and I excuse ourselves from the table and go to get ready. I get in the shower first and Rusty climbs into bed but I wake her up when I'm done. We have already planned our day and have a schedule to keep. It doesn't take her long to get ready which I know but she'll take **_**forever**_** in the shower. It's unbelievable. We drive around town and they take us to the tourist sites of the town and then we go to their favorite restaurant, and it's really nice. They buy us lunch and we decide what we want to do tomorrow. **

**The next few days pass quickly and I'm not as impressed with the state as everyone made it out to be. We leave 4 days later and explore a few small towns we drive through as we head for Atlanta Georgia. I was driving so I am writing this after. I like Alabama better. It seems more of the Southern state whereas Texas seems to want to be a city. **

**We had so much fun in Georgia. We went to concerts and a rodeo and little towns around Atlanta that people had requested we visit. Not that this trip was all about boys, but we did have several flirt with us. Rusty wasn't so obsessed with the South as me, but I made her dress like a cowgirl and she looked really cute. I, as usual, had one of my many cowgirl shirts, jeans – the only thing I really spend money on besides boots – and my Ariat cowboy boots. They were cute and they were definitely Southern, but none of them seemed to be the type that I was thinking of. Rusty sure liked the attention though. We hit New Orleans, Mississippi, Arkansas, the North and South Carolina's and Tennessee. It was the most fun I had ever had. We were just to girls not worrying about money or jobs or school, just having fun. Birmingham was our last stop on the actual Western strip in my eyes. We had a few other places to go to after that, like New York and Pennsylvania but those were cities. Rusty was asleep, and I was driving when a cow walked out in the road and I swerved, hoping to miss it. **

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Maybe in Kentucky, workin' the mines

Maybe down in Little Rock, just to pass the time

Maybe he's somewhere in New Orleans,

Livin' it up in the Big Easy

Right now, there's somethin' 'bout a boy from the South

**I woke up and Rusty was still asleep, at least I hoped she was still asleep. We were in a ditch in the middle of the night. My head had been bleeding but had slowly stopped which made me wonder how long we had been sitting here. I tried to wake Rusty up but she was unconscious. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and used the flashlight to look around. I had hit a power pole swerving to try to avoid hitting the cow. Well I know we're in Alabama. I opened the door and slowly got out. My wrist hurt but other than the cut on my head I felt fine. I walked to the road and looked to my right, nothing. Then to my left…were those lights? Yes! There was someone coming down the road. I waved my arms and they started to pull over. Thank goodness. When he got out of the old pickup I couldn't help but think, oh gosh…boy from the south. Sitting there with a gash on my head and most likely a broken wrist and I was thinking about how cute he was. He was wearing a cowboy hat, a carhart sweatshirt and jacket, wrangler jeans, and cowboy boots. He ran over to where I was leaning on the car.**

"**My friend…" I had tears in my eyes thinking about Rusty… "She's in the car…I can't get her to wake up." I said trying not to choke on my own words. **

"**Are you ok?" He asked, rushed. **

"**Yeah…my wrist hurts, but I'm fine."**

"**Ok, stay there." He put his coat around my shoulders. **

"**Thanks…" I whisper. He runs back to his truck and comes back with some water and a rag. Why does he have that in his truck? I don't really care at this point. He poured some of the water on the rag and puts it on the gash on my head.**

"**Hold it there, ok?"**

"**K…" He walked around the car and opened Rusty's door. I watched as he yanked on the seatbelt, trying desperately to get it off without hurting her. I reached for the back door and yanked it open searching through our bags trying to find something. I found a metal nail file. **

"**Here…"**

"**There is a razor knife in the cup holders of my truck…can you go look for it?"**

"**Yeah." I slipped my arms through the coat and ran for the truck, holding my arm close to me. I saw the knife as soon as I opened the door and grabbed it. **

"**I think this will work better." I smiled a little bit. He had the seat belt off in seconds then and carefully pulled her out of the car. **

"**I'm going to put her in the truck, you can put your stuff in the back if you want.**

"**Ok."**

"**Don't look at her foot…" As soon as he said it I couldn't help my eyes from darting to her leg which was twisted around. **

"**Oh, god." I quickly grabbed all of our things and put them in the truck but kept my purse on my lap. I sat in the back with Rusty and tried to hold her steady as we hit pot holes and bumps. We got to the hospital and they took her into the emergency room. The guy sat down next to me where I was hugging my knees close to me, trying not to cry.**

"**I'm Ren McCormick, by the way."**

"**Ariel Moore." I shook his hand with my good hand, the one not in a cast.**

"**You know, it's not your fault right. Cows are wandering around on the roads, all the time." **

"**I should've reacted better though…I could've."**

"**If you thought like that all the time, nothing would be how you wanted it to be." I turned my head to look at him and he gave a cheesy smile. I laughed a little bit.**

"**Finally…" He said like he was excited. **

"**What do you mean, finally?"**

"**You smiled…I wondered what it would look like." I was a little flustered and I could tell I blushed. It was an awkward moment where we just looked at each other. **

"**I can't imagine what it would look like when you're actually happy. I looked away and grabbed my purse.**

"**I should call Rusty's parents." I headed for the bathroom. I really was going to call Rusty's parents but it was more of an excuse to get out of there to avoid more awkwardness. **

**When I came back to the waiting room I was surprised that Ren was still there. **

"**You don't have to stay you know…although you **_**do**_** have my stuff."**

"**I would feel bad. You're by yourself in an unfamiliar town, and although you don't know me I really am not an ax murderer." I smiled again and so did he. I sat down and we talked for hours, playing games on one of our phones, coloring in other kids books, telling each other about ourselves, playing the alphabet game 3 times in a row. We seriously did everything you could think of. I finally fell asleep on his shoulder which I had no idea of. When I woke up he was slouched down so that I was comfortable but he was still awake. I moved around and sat up straight. **

"**How'd you sleep?"**

"**Like a baby!"**

"**Good."**

"**Did you sleep at all?"**

"**Yeah." The doctor came out a little while later. Rusty was awake and we could go see her but she needed her rest. I told him that her parents were on their way and that I would leave my number and their number here. I started to walk to Rusty's room but stopped. I looked at Ren and he was just sitting there.**

"**Do you want to come?"**

"**Do you want to come?"**

"**Are you sure that's alright?"**

"**You saved her life! We'd probably still be in that car right now if it wasn't for you!" I grabbed his hand and pulled him with me. Rusty looked surprised when the both of us walked in. I ran over to the bed.**

"**Oh, god, Rusty, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"**

"**Oh sweaty…don't worry about it. I know what happened. It's fine! Don't worry about it!" I hugged her and she whispered something in my ear.**

"**Do I look alright?"**

"**Fine." I whispered back. **

"**This is Ren, he found us in the car." **

"**Hi, Ren." We talked for a few minutes before the doctor kicked us out. I went back to where all of our things were and sat down. Ren looked at me like I'm crazy.**

"**Are you just going to sit her forever?"**

"**I don't really have a choice, do I?"**

"**You could come back to where I live."**

"**No offense, you've been really nice to us and all but…I don't know you…at least I haven't known you very long. I know more about you then I would a normal meeting…" I chuckle a little. "But I also have a rule against getting chopped up into a million pieces…" I just smiled.**

"**Hey, I already told you; I am not an ax murderer!"**

"**That's what they all say!" **

"**Yeah, yeah. Listen, I live with my parents, and obviously we're not a crazy family. You can take a shower, take a nap, eat, or whatever you want. But you can't stay here."**

"**Who says?" He just sighs. **

"**Come on." He picks up my things and starts walking out. **

"**Hey! What are you doing?"**

"**You weren't coming willingly so I decided to do it the easier way."**

"**Easier for you!" I said running after him. I finally caught up with him and he smiled at me. We got in the truck and drove for almost an hour to the middle of the country where there was a large horse ranch. **

"**Sweet!" I said looking at the sign as we drove under it. He smiled proudly. There was a quaint little farm house, well not quaint, actually very big and modern yet looked like a farm house. Makes no sense, I know. **

"**So you still live with your parents?"**

"**I live in the loft above the barn of my Aunt and Uncles ranch who raised me!"**

"**Oh…" It seemed like a sensitive subject so I decided to leave it alone. **

"**It's ok. I've lived alone before but it's easy this way."**

"**I'm just kidding…it's cool." We smiled at each other and then got out of the truck.**

"**Ren McCormick, where in the world have you been." A pretty blonde woman yelled off of the porch. She looked at me and smiled. She walked over to me and rubbed her hand over the gash on my head.**

"**You poor thing, what happened to you? Let's get you inside and get some food in you, your too skinny." I laughed quietly and I could tell Ren was a little embarrassed **

"**I'm LuLu by the way."**

"**Ariel."**

"**Ariel? That's such a pretty name!" **

"**Thank you, ma'am."**

"**Oh, you can call me LuLu." She was so sweet…I loved it! We went inside and they showed me to a guest room and Ren brought my things in.**

"**I can carry those."**

"**It's alright…I got it." He said pretending to struggle. I rolled my eyes at him. **

"**We'll have dinner ready soon, you can lay down, or watch some TV but we don't have that fancy cable stuff."**

"**My parents never allowed cable…" I smiled.**

"**Really?"**

"**Yeah…I'd really just like to take a shower if that's alright."**

"**No problem." She showed me to the bathroom and I showered and put on some fresh clothes. When I finished everyone was waiting around the table in the dining room. They were the perfect little family. I loved my family more than anything but I always wished I grew up on a ranch, preferably in the south. I sat down and apologized if they had been waiting. LuLu asked about what had happened and I explained. LuLu and Wes, Ren's uncle, gasped.**

"**You poor thing!" **

"**It's really not me that suffered." We finished dinner and played a board game which was more fun with Lulu and Wes. **

"**You wanna go see the horses?" Ren asked as we sat on the couch and watched a little bit of TV.**

"**Yeah!" I jumped up and put my boots on and grabbed my John Deere sweatshirt. We went out to the barn and there were tons of horses. **

"**The ones on the right are all boarded horses are but the ones on the left are all ours." I walked up to a dark brown horse with a black mane. Her name plate read Alabama/Allie. **

"**Hey, Allie." I whispered to her and ran my hand down her forehead. "She's beautiful."**

"**She's new. My parents just bought her as a learning horse or something like that. She can do anything." We talk for a while and decide to go for a ride.**

"**You can ride Allie if you'd like."**

"**Cool." I put a halter on and take Allie out of the stall. **

"**Ready?" I ask.**

"**You're not going to saddle her?"**

"**The best way to get to know a horse is to ride them bareback." I smile and step on a bale of hay to get onto Allie. Ren jumps on his horse and we run out of the barn in a race against each other. We ride for hours and Ren shows me around their land and all of the sites. It's beautiful, I've never seen anything like it.**

"**It's amazing." **

"**Yeah…" He smiles at me.**

"**Thank you…for everything." I tell him and he gets a deep, serious look on his face. "You saved me…us…and I've had an awesome time hanging out with you…It means a lot."**

"**It's been pretty awesome getting to know you too." Again, I blush. I get a sudden urge to feel the wind in my hair and the sun is starting to set. I don't see him reaching for my hand, we're close enough. **

"**I'll race you back!" I say as I turn Allie in a sharp corner and push her into a run. We get back to the barn and the horses are huffing and puffing. Poor things. I cool Allie down and put her away. **

"**I should get to bed. Thanks Ren, that was fun."**

"**I'll walk you to the house, there are all kinds'a animals out here.**

"**You don't have to."**

"**I want to." I smile and we walk back to the house and I'm glad that Ren is with me. We get to the porch and we both say goodnight. I feel like something else should be said but I'm not sure what. I reach for the doorknob but I feel his hand brush against mine and before I know it he pulls me in and his lips press against mine. One hand is in mine and the other is brushing my cheek. It was quick and sweet. I breathe heavily when he pulls away and I can tell he's afraid he's done something wrong.**

"**I'm sorry if that was…fast." He says quietly. I smile and hold onto his hand. I kiss his cheek.**

"**I'm glad." I whisper into his ear and go inside without looking into his eyes. I go to the bedroom and lay down, I sleep with a smile on my face.**

Yea, the first time I felt it I was only 16,

And he kissed me underneath the chinaberry tree.

Said "Goodnight darling," with a sweet southern drawl.

Man, I think I might just have to love them all –

The boys from the South

**I stayed in Alabama until Rusty was better. I had to go home sometime. Whenever I wasn't with Rusty I was with Ren and it was exactly as I imagined. He's perfect. We wrote letters and emails and texts and talked on the phone while I was back in Idaho. It was misery but better than nothing. **

**I moved to Alabama a year later after Rusty fully recovered and she moved with me. She met a guy name Willard and they are engaged now. **

**Ren and I were married a year after I moved to Alabama, I was 24 and he was 27. We live in a house we built on his Aunt and Uncles land. It's a dream I used to dream when I was little, now it's my dream. It's my life. I love everything about my life, mostly my boy from the South though.**

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Maybe he's in Texas, maybe this town.

My boys from the South

**P.S. Ren and I are expecting our first little Southern Boy in 6 months. **

Ooh, ooh, ooh

Ooh, ooh, ooh

Ooh, ooh, ooh

Oh yeah, yeah!


End file.
